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The Tennessean Exclusive

Excerpt:

Blackburn has never faced a serious threat from a Democrat during her eight previous races for the seat, winning all her 7th District races with at minimum two-thirds of the vote. She's expected to win next year as well.

"We're all better off when there's two sides of the coin," Kanew countered. "She's been meeting little resistance for the last 16 years. She's been an entrenched incumbent and there didn't seem to be anyone stepping up. I felt the call.

"In my eyes, this race isn't about left versus right, it's about right versus wrong," he said. "While I will have a 'D' next to my name, I hope in the end that people realize that 'D' stands for decency more than anything else."

Primaries for next year's congressional races are next August ahead of Election Day in November.